


Heir-ing on the Side of Caution

by Exodious



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Fluff, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-06-06 18:47:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15201110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exodious/pseuds/Exodious
Summary: Kyungsoo doesn't know anything about the prince he's married to, except that he's having his baby.





	1. Chapter 1

Prince Kyungsoo paces like a madman, trying to keep the budding panic at bay. 

He paces back and forth on the tiles of the bathroom floor, teeth furiously chewing at what little nails he has left. His long robes gently sway behind him as he turns around to head to the other side once more, small groans escaping his lips. 

It was one time. One fucking time. 

He glances once more at the stick he just peed on ten minutes ago, the word pregnant still flashing in bold, black letters, prompting him to switch to bite at the nails on his other hand. 

He shakes his head as he walks, not believing the word on the little stick until he feels a bout of nausea course through him. He breathes in deeply, trying not to get a second taste of his breakfast like he has been for the past two weeks. 

He thinks about his next course of action, the thought only leaving him more frustrated—because technically…he doesn’t really know Jongin. 

Prince Jongin, he corrects himself, and he only groans louder. 

The only things he knows about the male whose child he’s now apparently carrying is that he’s the future king of their region, and that his last name is Kim. That’s literally it. He doesn’t know what the other male likes to eat, what genre of movies he’s into, or if he prefers books over television. He doesn’t know anything about his current husband. 

Kyungsoo understands that their arranged marriage was a calculated move to strengthen the alliance between the two kingdoms. His father, King Do of the Eastern Providence, promised King Kim his second born son as a means of gaining political traction. Not that his father is a power hungry monarch, but it doesn’t hurt to gain it nonetheless.

But now a wrench has been thrown into the mix—more specifically, a baby. So much for consummating the marriage to complete their union. Kyungsoo remembers their wedding night as a passionless affair. Prince Jongin had been gentle with him, but there was no spark between them. No burning need to become one with the  
future king, even though their bodies had connected. 

In the two months Kyungsoo has been married, he’s embarrassed to admit he doesn’t know his husband at all. But he also can’t blame himself completely. After all, Prince Jongin is…cold. The male sports his signature rigid expression, and he doesn’t speak more than he has to. He’s too closed off to those around him, including Kyungsoo, and that makes it that much harder to know him. 

The more Kyungsoo stresses, the worse his stomach flips. It’s too late to change what’s happened, the only thing he can do now is focus on the upcoming months where he’ll be forced to deal with this life-altering situation. Although he won’t say it out loud, Kyungsoo is scared shitless. What’s even scarier is that he might have to do this alone, since the last time he and Jongin even spoke to each other was a week ago—and that only to keep up appearances at a party they attended together.  
Kyungsoo’s knees hit the tiled floor as he stresses himself out to the point of throwing up in the toilet bowl. He can’t tell if it’s the morning sickness or his nerves, but either way he feels terrible. After cleaning up and discarding the pregnancy test under layers and layers of toilet paper, he leaves the bathroom even more unsure than when he first entered.  
***

It’s been a week since he found out, and Kyungsoo hasn’t said a word to anyone about it. He doesn’t exactly know what he’s waiting for, just that he isn’t ready for the world to know about the heir yet. Hell, he still has to come to terms with it, even though three more positive tests have confirmed the diagnosis. 

However, he has begun taking a more proactive approach in what he eats and how much exercise he limits himself to. His job as the husband to the future king doesn’t entail much nowadays, leaving him with a lot of free time to explore some hobbies here and there. He had recently taken up horseback riding, but that will  
have to be put on hold until further notice—all that bouncing can’t be good for his vulnerable ball of cells. 

Kyungsoo makes his way to the Parliament room where King Kim has called a family meeting. One thing he has noticed about the Kims is that they love holding family meetings, even for something as small as celebrating little Rahee finally taking a shit in the toilet like a big girl—okay, that might be a slight exaggeration but still, this family holds too many meetings. 

He slips into the room quietly, noticing that King Kim has already begun discussing whatever they’ve all been called to hear. He tries to be as inconspicuous as possible, taking a seat beside Princess Jang-ah, Jongin’s older sister, and smiling at Rahee who sends him a toothy one of her own. 

The King is talking about some upcoming festivities that will be held at the palace soon, which Kyungsoo tunes out within the first five minutes. He’s slightly more focused on the way Rahee glances at him and grins, and then immediately hides behind her mom’s shoulder, only to repeat the action ten more times. It’s so endearing, and Kyungsoo can’t help but play along, bringing his hands up and hiding behind them, peering out when Rahee does. 

He notices how wide and round Rahee’s eyes are, the blackness of her hair that’s tied into two tiny pigtails, and the bronzeness of her skin that matches Princess Jang-ah’s perfectly. He finds himself thinking about the little girl’s unborn cousin that now resides in his stomach. Would he or she also have that beautiful, golden skin? Would the hair also be as dark as all the Kims’ or a lighter shade of brown like his own? Would their cheeks be round and plump, with tiny rolls of baby fat all over their body?

“Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo hears his name being called, and he jerks out of his thoughts as he peeks out from behind his hands that are still held up to his face. The whole royal Kim family is looking at him, and he feels his cheeks burning a hot red from having all the attention on him. 

He chances a glance at Jongin, who’s also looking at him with his trademark cold expression, except this time his eyes feel like they’re piercing into Kyungsoo’s soul. 

Kyungsoo feels slightly unnerved, looking away and at the King himself who’s just smiling at him. 

“Y-Yes?” he stutters out, never one for liking too much attention. It’s a miracle he was born second, Kyungsoo could never take having all eyes on him all the time. 

He’s thankful his older brother is the next in line for their kingdom instead of him. 

“Sweetheart, we’re asking when you want to have your clothes tailored?” Jongin’s mother, the Queen, speaks up, sending him an encouraging smile because Kyungsoo looks like he might just throw up. 

“Why?” he asks, feeling dumb for spacing out earlier. He wonders if pregnancy brain is a real thing this early on in the game. 

“For the upcoming party,” laughs Jang-ah, adjusting Rahee in her hold as the little girl squirms, reaching out for Kyungsoo.

“Oh, right.” Kyungsoo sends the others a sheepish smile. “Um, anytime is fine.”

“Ok, great. You and Jongin can get your measurements at the same time then. The party is three weeks away, plenty of time to plan and get everything settled,” the Queen says, jotting stuff down on a notepad. 

Kyungsoo nods, flushing a little as he looks at Jongin again, only to have the prince staring right back at him once more. He turns to face Rahee, the girl practically in his lap at this point, and Jang-ah lets go of her. Kyungsoo brings his arms around his niece, holding her close as Rahee rests her head on his shoulder, eyes closing promptly. 

“Oh, she’s finally going down for her nap,” Jang-ah lets out a sigh of relief. “Bring her by my chambers once she’s out, will you Kyungsoo?” she asks, getting up and ruffling his hair before planting a kiss on her daughter’s head. 

She heads out of the room, meeting officially over as the others begin to scatter as well. Kyungsoo remains in his seat, feeling the soft breaths hitting his neck as he brings up a hand to slowly pat the little girl’s back, a soft smile spreading on his lips.

“You’re so good with her, Kyungsoo,” the Queen says as she stands up as well, glancing over at her husband speaking with Jongin about something before turning back to him. “You’ll be a great parent once you and Jongin have one of your own.”

Kyungsoo turns red at that, only smiling nervously as she heads out as well. He ends up sneaking another look at Jongin, who’s now finished talking with his father and is the only one left in the room with him. He watches as Jongin collects some papers on the table and stuffs them in a folder before standing up. 

Their eyes meet once more and Kyungsoo flinches, feeling as though he’s been caught doing something he isn’t supposed to. His heart picks up pace, scrambling to stand up from his chair as he breaks the eye contact, making sure he doesn’t wake Rahee up as he pushes the chair in. He can’t control the muscles of his eyes as they rotate upward to look at Jongin again, the same feeling from earlier making his heart beat faster. He looks at him for just a moment longer before he finally wills his legs to move, walking out of the room and away from the male who—just by looking at Kyungsoo—is making him feel weird things that he has never felt before. 

***

Kyungsoo tosses and turns as he struggles to get comfortable on his large bed. His mattress is comfortable enough, but his thoughts are what plague him enough to elude sleep. 

He thinks about his life at the palace. Kyungsoo isn’t homesick like he expected to be. The Kims are extremely caring towards him, and even though he’s not the most social or talkative person, they always make sure to never let him feel left out of anything. Kyungsoo can’t help but be grateful to be surrounded by people like that, he figures it could be much worse like being alienated or having to work hard to earn their affection. They give it so freely that Kyungsoo doesn’t feel lonely or misses home like he usually does whenever he goes somewhere. 

He thinks about his family and kingdom back home. The Eastern Providence has been ruled by his family for generations, and it’s the place where Kyungsoo was born and raised. Of course, ever since he married and moved to live with the Kims, he definitely misses his fathers and brother, whom he will get to see when they come for the party they’re throwing in two weeks’ time. Kyungsoo can’t wait to be reunited with his family.

He also thinks a lot about the unborn baby he’s keeping a secret from the world. It’s been two weeks since he peed on the stick and his status changed from newly wedded Prince Kyungsoo to future parent. The thought is daunting—he’s going to be a father. Within seven months’ time, there’s going to be a little creature who’s going to require all his attention and love and Kyungsoo doesn’t know if he’ll be a good dad. Hell, he’s only twenty-three years old and still a daddy’s boy himself, how is he going to handle it all?

But the one thing—or rather, person—he avoids thinking about is Jongin. Because whenever the prince’s image pops up in his mind, it sends a rush of feelings that Kyungsoo can’t quite name. They make his heart pump faster, blood rush through his veins, palms sweaty, and something unexplainable happens in his southern region. 

But why? Kyungsoo can’t comprehend why his body reacts this way when he barely knows Jongin. He is a practical man, he can see for himself that his husband is very handsome—okay, unbelievably attractive—but Kyungsoo has never been one to fall for looks. When did he start feeling this way about someone who’s still a stranger to him despite being married?

Kyungsoo remembers their wedding night, how careful Jongin had been with him. It was his first time and he was beyond anxious, but Jongin had made sure that Kyungsoo was completely sure of everything. It was to the point where Kyungsoo had ended up initiating things, and the rest is history. But Kyungsoo knows that’s not when he felt anything for the male. 

So when was it? Was it during the time Jongin cleaned him up and tucked him into bed that night? Or when Kyungsoo woke up the next morning and the first thing he saw were the soft, innocent features of Jongin’s face blissed out in sleep—and deciding it wasn’t a bad view to wake up to every morning for the rest of his life?  
Too bad that was the first and last time Kyungsoo woke up to Jongin’s pouty lips and soft snores because they haven’t slept in the same bed since. Kyungsoo understands that Jongin is busy learning the ropes of ruling their kingdom, and the male spends every night in his office down the hall, staying up to the early morning hours and eventually passing out there as well. 

Kyungsoo convinces himself that it’s because Jongin is a hard worker and wants to be the best ruler he can for their people, and not because he was scared away by his morning breath that day. 

Kyungsoo turns in bed once more, sitting up when he decides he’s not going to get sleep anytime soon. He picks up his phone from the bedside table, the clock reading 1am as he unlocks it. He scrolls through his contact list, stopping when he sees his dad’s name and wonders if it would be a good idea to call so late. There are so many things going through his mind, making him feel vulnerable and scared, and he just needs to talk to his father. 

“Hello?” comes a groggy voice from the other line, and Kyungsoo’s heart twinges at the sound. He’s not homesick but he’s definitely missed hearing his dad’s voice. 

“Daddy?” he says in a small voice, suddenly feeling like a lost child. He feels fresh tears spring to his eyes. 

“Kyungsoo? What’s wrong, baby? Why are you calling so late?” 

Kyungsoo swallows thickly, trying to keep his voice even. “Nothing, I just missed you. Sorry for waking you up. I’ll let you get back to sleep—”

“No, it’s okay! But how is everything? Are you okay?”

Kyungsoo smiles at his dad rambling off questions without pausing to take a breath. “Everything’s fine, daddy. How’s dad and Seungsoo?” 

“They’re well. You know, one’s busy teaching how to rule and one’s learning it.”

Kyungsoo chuckles, knowing his father’s rolling his eyes. Back home, he was his father’s favorite because they did everything together, while Seungsoo was with their other dad going to meetings and sitting in on negotiations with important people. He knows his dad misses his company a lot, now that Seungsoo’s gotten even busier and Kyungsoo is at his new home. 

“Same thing here, Jongin is busy learning how to be a king too.”

“Is he being a good husband too?”

Kyungsoo bites his lip, chewing on it thoughtfully because he can’t really say he’s a good husband, but also not a bad one either. He’s just neutral—like the stupid expression he wears on his face 24/7. Kyungsoo doesn’t think he’s ever actually seen Jongin smile.

“He’s good. Caring and smart, like the rest of his family.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m so happy to hear your voice, Soo. I know things get in the way and we get busy, but I want you to know you can call me anytime and I’ll be there.”

Kyungsoo feels that ball of feelings lodge in his throat once more, and he can practically taste the words that are now settled at the tip of his tongue. I’m pregnant. 

But for some reason they don’t make it out. 

“Thank you, I’ll make sure to call at 4am the next time,” Kyungsoo jokes instead and he can hear his father whisper laughing through the line, trying not to wake up the sleeping king beside him. 

“I rescind the offer,” his father replies back, still chuckling under his breath and Kyungsoo breaks out into a smile. 

“Goodnight daddy, get some sleep.”

“Goodnight, my sweet boy.”

As Kyungsoo hangs up, he feels his stomach turn, the sting of bile suddenly hitting his throat and he scrambles off his bed, heading to the bathroom to empty it all out. Thankfully he reaches the toilet bowl just in time to unload, retching the disgusting contents and watching them splash into the water. He groans as he grabs his stomach, the nausea hitting him full force as he feels his knees becoming weak, eventually sitting down and resting his head on his hands. 

He sits there for a few minutes recuperating, trying to gain back the strength he lost. His head feels light and he just wants to fall asleep right there, but he manages to pick himself up. He flushes the toilet and cleans out his mouth, stepping back out into the bedroom once he feels refreshed. He wonders how long he’s going to be re-tasting his food during this pregnancy. Perhaps another month or so till the nausea subsides. 

However, as he makes his way back to bed, his stomach rumbles and this time it’s because he’s hungry. Kyungsoo groans once more, deciding that the little royal inside his belly really needs to make up their mind about wanting food to stay in his stomach or not. 

He turns course toward the kitchen, hoping he can find something good to snack on in the dead of night. 

***

Keeping such a big secret from the family proves to be quite difficult for Kyungsoo. Whenever he sees their smiling faces, a big guilt arrow shoots right through his heart, and he’s left feeling bad afterwards. They deserve to know, but he’s still holding out. Why? He doesn’t know himself. 

Maybe it’s because even though he and Jongin are getting fitted for their outfits for the party, his husband doesn’t say more than a simple greeting. And it makes Kyungsoo feel a little disappointed. 

He watches as the prince stands in front of the mirrors, broad shoulders on display through a crisp white collared shirt, black slacks complimenting long legs, a vest snugly fitted around his thin waist—his husband looks like a whole snack and Kyungsoo’s kind of hungry. 

When he catches a hold of his thoughts, Kyungsoo almost slaps himself. Focus!

“Kyungsoo-ssi,” the tailor says, getting his attention. “I’d like for you to try this on,” he says, holding up a shirt and pant combo. “It’s tailored to your previous measurements so it should fit nicely.”

Kyungsoo stands up, thanking the male before walking into the fitting room. He begins to undress, slipping the black slacks on and feeling the blood pool in his cheeks as he tries his best to button the pants. He’s only two months along and his stomach barely shows, but apparently it’s enough to give him a hard time with his pants. 

Finally, he manages to close the button, and works on the collared shirt next. The real problem arises when he tries to close the buttons of his vest, but it’s definitely too snug around his midsection that he doesn’t want to force it close. After trying various methods that don’t involve sucking in his stomach completely, he gives up and walks out, holding the vest out for the tailor to take. 

“It, um, doesn’t close,” he says, fighting hard to keep his blush from blooming.

“That’s odd,” the tailor murmurs but takes the vest nonetheless, inspecting it to make sure he didn’t mess up on the seams somewhere. 

“I probably gained weight,” he smiles awkwardly, turning around to inspect himself in the floor-length mirrors. 

“It suits you,” comes Jongin’s voice from behind, and Kyungsoo freezes in his spot, eyes traveling to look at his husband in the mirror, who looks just as surprised as he is.

He doesn’t know what to do or say as Jongin stands up, the prince mumbling about waiting in the car for him, and then he’s gone. Kyungsoo remains still, eyes following the male out the door until he focuses back on himself, noticing how incredibly bright red he’s turned. 

Did he hear Jongin right? Did the prince just compliment him? Kyungsoo taps his cheeks with his palms, trying to calm down the storm that’s now brewing inside his heart. 

After getting re-measured, the tailor promises to have the new vest ready by the next day, and with that, Kyungsoo heads out to the car, heart still thundering the closer he gets. He tries not to stumble as he walks, mind a steady haze as it swirls the three words around. It suits you. 

Kyungsoo blushes, fingers grazing against his stomach as he stays lost in thought when the driver comes around to open the door for him. He wonders if that’s what Jongin’s into—short, chubby men. If that’s the case, Kyungsoo doesn’t mind tearing through a whole cooked cow if it means it will fill him in all the right places.  
He slips inside, settling on the leather seat by the left window while Jongin remains on the right. Kyungsoo visibly swallows, a silent tension permeating the air in the car. He keeps his eyes on the road as they take off, fighting to keep a smile from appearing on his lips. 

Ten minutes pass like that in silence, and usually Kyungsoo is okay with it. However, today is different as his mind stays hooked on what occurred moments earlier at the shop. It doesn’t even mean much, probably, but for Kyungsoo who has never heard Jongin speak to him of his own accord, it means something. 

“W-What is the party being held for?” he asks with a stutter, mentally kicking himself for sounding so unconfident—like a teenager talking to his crush—which he technically is, just slightly older. 

He turns to look at Jongin, who’s now giving him the same expression that he always wears, but his eyes are different. They seem…thoughtful. As if Jongin’s contemplating whether to answer or not. After a minute of not receiving an answer, Kyungsoo sighs under his breath and moves to turn away, only to stop when he hears the prince speak up. 

“My parents’ wedding anniversary.”

Kyungsoo whips around, eyes wide as he stares at Jongin. “Really?”

Jongin looks mildly taken aback but nods his head in response. 

“Oh wow, I didn’t know,” Kyungsoo says, looking down and fumbling with his hands nervously. “Now I feel dumb.”

He can feel Jongin’s gaze on him as the prince speaks. “Why?”

“Because I didn’t even congratulate them, or offer to help with the party,” he replies, looking back up at Jongin, only to realize his mistake because his heart almost leaps out of his throat when he finds himself face to face with the male, not knowing when he scooted closer to him. 

Something in Jongin’s expression changes, and Kyungsoo can’t help but stare deeper into the chocolate brown eyes of the prince as he opens his mouth to respond. 

“You still have a week.”

That’s when Kyungsoo finds his lips splitting apart to reveal his pearly whites, corners turning up to form into his famous heart-shaped smile as a soft chuckle comes tumbling out. “I do, huh?”

With that, Kyungsoo turns away smiling even though Jongin is still staring at him blankly, head and heart a jumbled mess as he realizes he just talked to Jongin. It wasn’t much of a conversation but it’s enough to let Kyungsoo know that he can hold one without turning into a stuttering mess. 

***

A few days pass and Kyungsoo finds himself waking up in the middle of the night with an incredible urge to devour mangoes. His mouth is salivating and his stomach is relentlessly flipping on itself, forcing him out of bed and towards the kitchen. 

The party is this weekend and all the decorations have been set up. When he went to ask his mother-in-law if he could help with anything, she cooed at him first, then proceeded to take him under her wing to explain her role in the party-planning—which was basically hiring all the right people and making sure they finished on time.  
He walks past it all and straight to the fridge, praying with all his might that he finds what he’s looking for inside, otherwise he doesn’t know what he will do. Cry, probably. 

He sifts through the various items, jumping a little excitedly when he spots the fruit. He takes out three and moves to the counter, finding a knife in one of the numerous drawers and beginning to cut. He hasn’t stepped inside a kitchen in a while, but Kyungsoo sure knows his way around one. He has always enjoyed learning recipes from their chef back home, but he hasn’t gotten a chance to make anything for the Kims yet. 

In the middle of contemplating what sort of cake he could bake for his in-laws’ anniversary, a noise from behind makes him jump in his chair. Kyungsoo turns around, cheeks puffed out with the slices of mangoes, eyes landing on Jongin who walks into the kitchen still rubbing his eyes like he just woke up from sleep.  
The prince, dressed in grey pajamas and a plain white T-shirt, stops upon seeing Kyungsoo. His eyes squint as they get used to the light before recognition hits him. Jongin’s eyes widen, unsure of what to do as Kyungsoo takes that moment to chew and swallow as much as he can. 

In the minute that it takes Kyungsoo to clear his mouth, he observes Jongin carefully. This is the second time he’s seeing Jongin not dressed up in royal robes. Instead, the disheveled bed hair, the loose pajamas, and the bare feet do something to him. He wouldn’t be surprised if Jongin knew he was practically undressing him with his eyes. 

“I was hungry,” he finally gets out as Jongin begins walking again, towards the fridge. 

He doesn’t get a reaction as Jongin rummages through the shelves, pulling out some of the leftovers from dinner earlier and walking to the microwave to heat it up. Kyungsoo pouts slightly, wishing Jongin would at least acknowledge him but the prince remains standing with his back to him, waiting for his food to warm up.  
He goes to stab at a piece with his fork, munching on it even though his mood is slightly dampened. He decides its best to hurry up and finish and return back to his room before the awkward tension in the room can grow. He watches quietly as Jongin retrieves his food and grabs a spoon before walking over to the table and taking a seat across from him. 

The close proximity only stresses Kyungsoo out more, and he proceeds to fill his mouth to the brim with more pieces of mango so he isn’t tempted to break the lingering silence with words. Kyungsoo doesn’t do well under stress, and his need to rectify that usually ends up embarrassing him further. 

They both eat in silence, Kyungsoo noticing how Jongin glances over at his plate every so often. He’s in the middle of cutting the third mango when he decides he just needs to ask the million dollar question. 

“Would you like some?” he asks, gesturing to his plate as Jongin looks up at him. 

Looking at his husband, Kyungsoo swears Jongin looks much younger than him despite being older by three years. The way his chocolate eyes waver the longer they stare at each other, the way the corner of his lips quirk just the slightest bit—

Was that a smile?

Lost in thought, Kyungsoo doesn’t realize when the knife slips and slices his finger, letting out an unmanly yelp as blood begins dripping down. Jongin reacts quickly, moving to grab the towel near the sink and coming around to Kyungsoo. He takes the now bloody hand in his, wrapping the towel tightly until the blood circulation cuts off enough to slow the bleeding. 

Kyungsoo groans under his breath, looking on the verge of passing out because the sight of blood always makes him really woozy. 

“Are you okay?” he hears Jongin ask, and Kyungsoo nods as he puts his head down on the table, letting the light-headedness pass. “Wait here.”

After a few minutes, he hears Jongin come shuffling back into the kitchen, and he raises his head to see a first aid kit in his hands. Kyungsoo feels drained, the blood loss coupled with his inability to stomach the sight of blood rendering him weak. 

He looks away as Jongin unwraps the quickly soaking towel, knowing for certain he will faint if he sees the bloody gash on his poor finger. He lets out a whine when Jongin pours a saline solution to clear the cut, using some gauze to dab at it before uncapping some ointment and applying it gently to the finger. 

This is probably not the best time to think about how Jongin is holding his hand as he cleans, the touches leaving Kyungsoo’s skin all tingly—or it could just be from the loss of blood. Either way, Kyungsoo can’t help but look at Jongin’s concentrated face, eyebrows cutely scrunched together as he slowly wraps clean gauze around the laceration, teeth pressed into his bottom lip—it has Kyungsoo mimicking the action, pulling his own bottom lip into his mouth—otherwise he’ll probably squeal. 

“Feeling better?” he hears Jongin ask, and Kyungsoo shakes his head to clear his previous thoughts, focusing back to his husband who’s looking at him seriously. 

Without thinking twice, Kyungsoo lets out a huff, lips forming a pout as he whines, “It hurts…”

He doesn’t catch on to the way Jongin stiffens, instead looking down to inspect the dressing. That’s when he flushes a bright red, noticing Jongin’s long, slim fingers still holding his hand, and his heart skips several beats. 

“Thank you,” he half-whispers, pulling his hand out because any longer and he might combust. 

“Be careful next time.”

Kyungsoo tries to fight his smile as he nods. “I’m actually pretty good with knives. I guess I was distracted.” By you. It’s your fault, Kim Jongin. 

“Good like cooking wise or killing wise?” 

Kyungsoo pauses, not believing his ears. Did the cold, broody prince just try cracking a joke?

“I can’t kill with a knife,” he then responds with a small grin. “Too much blood,” he says, holding up his finger and rolling his eyes back to pretend like he’s about to faint again. 

That’s when he hears it. A small chuckle coming from Jongin. It’s so light and airy that he almost misses it. Is this what Heaven feels like?

Kyungsoo joins in with a laugh of his own, trying to keep his whale noises from coming out like they usually do when he truly laughs. It takes a lot to contain himself, wanting to burst at the seams from the happiness that’s blooming throughout his body. 

He made Prince Jongin laugh. He figures the nasty cut on his finger was worth it after all. 

“No but really, I’m a good cook,” he says after a while, gaining Jongin’s attention again. 

“Really,” Jongin states rather than questions, as if not believing Kyungsoo’s statement. 

“Really,” Kyungsoo reiterates. “If I wasn’t debilitated right now,” he says holding up his injured finger, “I would cook you something to prove it.”

Jongin looks like he’s fighting back another smile when he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. “Okay. We’ll just have to wait until you heal then.”

Is this for real? Does Jongin really want Kyungsoo to cook for him?

“You’re on,” Kyungsoo challenges, already coming up with a few dishes to blow Jongin away with. 

He watches as Jongin glances at the clock before turning back to face him. 

“It’s late,” he says, picking up his dishes as well as Kyungsoo’s and going to drop them in the sink. “You should, um, get some sleep.”

Kyungsoo notices the 3:30am on the clock, deciding its time he retired back to bed. He gets up from his chair, heading over to the exit, but before he leaves he turns again. “You too. And thank you again,” he says, wiggling his damaged finger at the male before turning and leaving, face threatening to break as his lips finally stretch into the smile that’s been fighting to spread on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning of the party doesn’t treat Kyungsoo very well as the first thing he comes face to face with is his best friend, the toilet bowl. Emptying out his stomach for the nth time, Kyungsoo feels his throat burn, probably beginning to take damage from all the stomach acid that it comes into contact with on a daily basis. He should probably go see the doctor to get something for that. 

However, at the thought of seeing the doctor, Kyungsoo has a mini panic attack when he realizes he should’ve seen the doctor weeks ago when he first found out about his pregnancy. He’s three months along now, which is quite far for not having visited the doctor for a check-up. 

He feels a cascade of emotions drench him as he realizes he could be putting the baby in danger. What if I’m not taking enough folic acid? Various questions plague him, effectively scaring him to the point of crying as Kyungsoo curls into a ball on the floor and lets his tears run. He wonders if the doctor would be able to explain his confusing mood swings too. Maybe give him some medicine for that as well because he really can’t take the sudden crying he’s been experiencing lately.   
Eventually, he forces himself to clean up and get ready for the day. The party isn’t until the evening, which leaves him plenty of time to get his shit together.

After leaving the bathroom, he heads straight for his sister-in-law’s room. Feeling the need to tell somebody about the whole baby situation, Jongin’s sister is the best candidate—having had a child of her own. Plus, she looks like she could keep a secret. 

He knocks on her bedroom door, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet as he hears footsteps on the other side. She opens the door, surprised to see Kyungsoo standing there so early in the morning. 

“Good morning, Kyungsoo,” she greets, leaning in to give the prince a warm hug. “What brings you here?”

Kyungsoo doesn’t waste a moment grabbing onto her arm, tears welling up in his eyes again as he gives her the most pitiful look. 

“Noona,” he says in a strained voice. “Please help me.”

 

That’s how Kyungsoo finds himself sitting on the chair at the doctor’s office, legs dangling back and forth as he waits. He glances around at the posters, pictures of various human anatomy lining the walls. There’s even a pregnancy growth chart for each week of the nine months, and Kyungsoo finds that his baby’s the size of a lime at twelve weeks. His eyes land on Princess Jang-ah, who gives him a reassuring smile that calms his nerves down just a little. 

The door opens and the doctor walks in, chart in hand and ready to go. 

“Prince Kyungsoo,” she greets with a bow. “My name is Jung Soojung, and I own this clinic. Rest assured, we take patient confidentiality extremely seriously. Whatever we discuss in here today will not be discussed externally, so no worries about any leaks to the media,” she finishes with a gentle smile and Kyungsoo nods in response. “So, what can we do for you today?”

Kyungsoo glances at Princess Jang-ah for a moment, turning back to the young doctor once he receives an encouraging nod. 

“I’m pregnant,” he tells her, and Dr. Jung’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Oh, congratulations! An heir for the kingdom, how exciting,” she says. “This is brilliant. We handled Princess Jang-ah’s pregnancy so you are in capable hands, Kyungsoo-ssi.”

After that, the ball just sort of rolls as Dr. Jung has him pee in a cup just to confirm the pregnancy for their records. He answers a few questions about his symptoms, nutritional intake, and other details that Kyungsoo’s mind sort of glosses over. He isn’t convinced yet that he’s actually in the doctor’s office, going from keeping this secret for so long to telling two people about it. It’s exhausting. 

When he finally lays back in the chair and Dr. Jung squirts some cold gel over his slightly raised abdomen, the monitor whizzes to life with black and white images. Kyungsoo tries to make sense of the weird splotches as the transducer passes over his midsection. 

“Ok, here we are,” says Dr. Jung, settling on a good view. She points at the white blob sitting there all lonely in the darkness of his womb, and Kyungsoo squints to make sense of it. Is it upside down? Which side is the head? “This is your baby!”

And then it hits Kyungsoo. He’s looking at the little creature that’s been making him throw up and cry for the past few weeks. It kind of shakes him to the core because even though he’s known he’s pregnant, it still felt like a myth. But now actually seeing the alien-looking, rounded head with a tiny curved body, it’s real. It’s fucking real. 

He feels someone squeezing his hand, and he looks over at Princess Jang-ah looking at him with happy tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?” she asks, clearly noticing how overwhelmed Kyungsoo looks right now. 

Kyungsoo can’t find it in himself to answer. 

Is he okay? He doesn’t know. All he knows right now is that he’s more scared than he thought he would be. Seeing the actual life growing inside his body makes Kyungsoo kind of just want to cry at the realness of it all. 

Shit. He’s going to be responsible for a living, breathing human being soon. 

After receiving some prescriptions for vitamins and supplements, and information about the upcoming month and what sort of things to expect, Kyungsoo is sent on his way with a clean bill of health for the baby.

He’s extremely quiet in the car ride home, long drowned in his thoughts that are so scattered that they seem to make no sense. On top of that, he still doesn’t know quite how to feel. 

“Kyungsoo?” Princess Jang-ah says, barely loud enough for him to hear. 

He turns to look at her, wanting to verbally acknowledge her but all the words seem to die out before they can be formed. 

“I know it’s scary,” she starts, deciding to address Kyungsoo’s fears rather than waiting for the male to voice them out loud. She’s familiar with the situation, having gone through it herself with Rahee. “Finding out you’re responsible for someone so vulnerable, it’s really scary.”

Kyungsoo feels his eyes beginning to gloss over with tears once more. 

“Your body changes, your mood changes, some days you don’t feel like yourself and it can get overwhelming.” She leans over to wrap an arm around the shaking boy’s shoulders, pulling him close. “I felt the same way with Rahee, so I can tell you that I understand. But it’s okay to feel like that. It’s a new experience, so it’s normal to feel scared. I can’t tell you how many times I broke down crying for no reason,” she says with a smile as Kyungsoo sniffles, wide eyes red and watery. 

“It’s okay to be scared, but you have to know that you’re not alone. Your brother-in-law has the patience of a saint. He put up with all my yelling, my ridiculous cravings, and even threats,” she says with a laugh. “I once threatened to leave him because he used up all the hot water in the shower.”

At that, Kyungsoo cracks a smile. 

“So chin up, okay?” she says, pressing a kiss in Kyungsoo’s hair like a mother would to her crying child. “You have me, mom, dad, Jongin, even Rahee to take care of you so don’t think you’ll be alone in all of this.”

“He doesn’t know,’ Kyungsoo finally speaks up in a small voice. 

“Are you going to tell him anytime soon?”

“Eventually.”

“I don’t want to rush you, Kyungsoo, but tell him as soon as you can. You’re going to need his moral support if you want to come out sane at the end of this. It’s his baby too, he needs to know.”

“What if…” Kyungsoo trails off, not knowing how to voice out his biggest fear in comprehensible words.

“What if, what?”

What if he doesn’t want it? 

Jang-ah, ever the perceptive princess, senses the impending question. “My brother…his face is just like that,” she begins. “He brooded in our mother’s womb—if you think I’m lying we still have the sonograms. He was born brooding, not crying until the doctor slapped him on the ass. He brooded growing up, face as cold as ice. Jongin’s a natural brooder, Kyungsoo. He looks like he’ll murder anyone who comes near him, but really, he’s a big softie once you get to know him. So don’t fill your head with questions of ‘what if’s’, you won’t know anything until you tell him.”

Kyungsoo thinks over the words in his head for a moment, the turmoil in his heart somewhat subsided as he processes whatever the princess has just said. 

He really won’t know until he tells Jongin. 

Kyungsoo can agree with that logic. He knows he sometimes takes it too far by assuming things when he could just get the answer from the source itself. Looks like Kyungsoo is going to have to face this situation the same way, if he wants to stay sane like Jang-ah has mentioned. 

“Thank you, Noona,” he says, flashing the princess a shy smile as he moves out of her embrace. He definitely feels better than before, that’s for sure.

However, now there’s a question stabbing at the back of his mind. 

“Noona?” he calls her again, “Do you think our baby will be born brooding too?”

“Dear God, I hope not,” she replies, sending the two into a fit of snickers at Jongin’s expense. 

***

Kyungsoo is exhausted. 

He lays his bag with his prenatal vitamins and supplements on the bedside table before plopping down on his mattress, face pressed against his pillow, and eyes shut as he takes in several deep breaths. 

He didn’t think going to see the doctor would tire him out as much as it did, and he just wants to sleep it all off for the next two days. The rhythmic pounding against his skull isn’t helping things along either. He wonders if Tylenol would be safe to take—he decides he’ll just Google it later. 

However, as much as he just wants to slip into a short nap, his mind continues to roll. He thinks about what the doctor told him about his second trimester—about how the royal family should prepare to make an announcement soon since he’s going to start showing even more. The thought stresses him out, not knowing where to even begin going about this.

Kyungsoo groans. He really dislikes the situation he’s put himself into. He knows he needs to tell the Kim family, especially Jongin. But he can’t.

Hell, he can’t even bring himself to tell his own fathers because for some reason, he’s scared. 

Being the second child of a king, Kyungsoo’s grown up in a type of luxury even his older brother can’t relate to. Without the pressure of the crown, he grew up pursuing interests unrelated to politics and running a kingdom. His fathers showered him with unconditional love, his tutors were very lenient, and he wasn’t expected to carry himself in a way that always showed his position—that was reserved for Seungsoo. Sometimes seeing the way his brother often struggled with the pressure of one day taking over their father’s position, Kyungsoo couldn’t be more grateful with the way he was raised. 

He’s never experienced struggles—perhaps the occasional heartbreak by a secret crush or losing their family pet—but nothing heavy has ever been on his shoulders. 

Until the time his fathers sat him down one day and discussed a mutual alliance between the Do’s and the Kim’s in the form of an arranged marriage. Before he could even congratulate Seungsoo on the marriage, he heard his own name being dropped—and along with it, his heart. 

It was the first time anything pertaining to his status as a royal was expected of him. He was set to marry a future king, and Kyungsoo didn’t have the slightest idea of what that entailed. All he knew was that he couldn’t disappoint his parents, not when such a huge responsibility was thrust upon him. 

And so Kyungsoo married the prince without protest, knowing he was in over his head, but it was the least he could do. His parents never asked anything of him, his brother never once complained of his own situation despite knowing how overwhelming it was, and so he pulled his own weight even if it was scary. 

And it was. 

He has never come across someone who didn’t like him before. As childish as it sounds, Kyungsoo has never dealt with anyone who didn’t want to talk to him, or be   
around him. But there was Jongin on their wedding day, looking straight at him and not even cracking a friendly smile. It unnerved him to say the least. 

But now it’s become even scarier. Before, Kyungsoo only had to worry about a cold, broody old prince who wouldn’t look his way for more than a second. Now, he’s carrying the heir to the Kim kingdom and Kyungsoo feels his shoulders heavy with the burden.

Not only does he have to try and make things work with Jongin, he has to tell him he’s going to be a dad in six months’ time.

It’s incredibly intimidating. 

Kyungsoo sniffles into his pillow, finally allowing the exhaustion to overtake his body and pull him into a deep sleep. 

***

Jongin stands before the large, wooden door, hand poised in a fist ready to knock when he frowns, lowering it and simply standing there contemplating whether to barge right in or make himself known first. 

It’s weird, knocking on his own bedroom door that he’s had for the past twenty-six years. 

He raises his fist up again and—

“What’re you doing?”

Jongin turns to look down the hallway, his sister walking towards him with an impeccably dressed two year old in her arms. She comes to a stop right beside him, looking inquisitively at his fist that’s stopped just before it hit the door. 

Jongin sends her a confused look. 

“Just walk in,” she says, “it’s your room, isn’t it?”

At that, Jongin lowers his hand and scowls. “It’s called having manners.”

“It’s called being scared of your husband,” she giggles behind her palm, and Rahee, hearing her mom, joins in too.

Jongin pouts at the two princesses snickering at him, crossing his arms and taking a defensive position. “I’m not scared of him,” he declares, because he’s not.

“It’s okay, Nini. Kyungsoo doesn’t bite—or does he?” she teases, a mischievous glint in her eyes that makes Jongin’s cheeks bloom a deep scarlet. 

“I’m—He—Don’t call me that,” he splutters out instead, despising the stupid nickname that he’s never managed to get rid of. 

“Nini,” Rahee calls out and Jongin sincerely hopes his niece doesn’t start calling him that either. Anything but that. “Uncle Nini?”

His hopes crash and burn. 

Jongin rubs his face with his hands, feeling like he aged ten years in the span of two minutes. He opens his eyes and glares at Jang-ah, who only sends him a sweet smile. 

“Don’t give me that look. I’m not the one who’s been standing in front of my room for five minutes like an idiot.”

“Noona, stop,” he says in a voice that almost sounds like a whine. Almost. Future kings don’t whine.

“Well, then stop giving me reasons to tease you, baby brother,” she chuckles as Rahee claps her hands. 

“Idiot!” the two year old says excitedly, not sure of what’s going on but taking part in it no less. 

That only makes Jang-ah laugh harder as Jongin gives up, lightly smacking his forehead against the door as he sighs. 

“You can do it.” She pats Jongin on the shoulder encouragingly. “Be strong. If you want, I can walk you through it. First, you grip the handle. Then, you slowly turn and push, and it opens the doo—”

“Just go get ready for the party,” he groans, shaking off her hand as he stands upright once more. 

“Okay fine, you big baby,” Jang-ah says, readjusting Rahee in her hold as she gets ready to leave, but not before dropping some words of wisdom. “Take good care of Kyungsoo today.”

The sudden change in tone has Jongin scrunching his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean—take care of him every day. Just, he’s not feeling very well today so be nice.”

And with that, Jang-ah leaves before Jongin can dig deeper into the meaning behind her words. It’s not hers to reveal. She just hopes her idiot brother can catch onto it quick, and soon. 

Meanwhile, Jongin grumbles under his breath as he finally turns the handle and opens the door, stepping inside slowly, carefully, as if he is scared. 

Which he’s not. 

But seeing a certain prince wrapped tightly in a burrito blanket on their bed has him feeling relieved that he didn’t end up knocking. The brunet looks so serene, unusually wide eyes closed as he softly snores away in dreamland—

Jongin catches himself staring a beat too long, and he looks away, eyes in search for what he actually came to look for. He treads lightly over to their closet, careful not to wake the sleeping prince with the clacking of his shoes as he picks up his attire for the evening. He unzips the garment bag and peeks inside to make sure all the pieces to his tuxedo are there, and does the same to Kyungsoo’s lying right beside it.

Once he deems the stitching work flawless and the ironed creases crisp, he turns to head back out. He wonders if he should bother waking up the prince or let the butler take care of that since there’s still some time left before guests start arriving, but he finds he doesn’t have to decide because Kyungsoo is sitting up, eyes still closed in a sleepy haze as his hair sticks up in different directions. 

Jongin finds himself unable to move as he watches Kyungsoo fumble around for his phone and shut off his alarm blindly, tossing it aside before slumping back down on the pillow. The shorter prince lets out a loud yawn before snuggling tighter into his cocoon, letting out soft mewls until he slips back into sleep. 

Fuck. 

Jongin looks away, taking large, pronounced strides towards the door. He doesn’t waste time in closing it behind himself, heading towards his office where he can be alone with the silly thoughts now running through his mind. 

***

When Kyungsoo awakens again, his old friend nausea hits him in the gut and he scrambles towards the bathroom, mentally cursing the morning sickness—because for some reason, it doesn’t only happen in the mornings. 

When he does nothing but dry heave, he realizes he hasn’t eaten anything all day. His panic meter goes up a couple of notches, and an overwhelming feeling begins to consume him—very reminiscent of this morning. 

He whimpers as he washes his face, eyes rimmed red as he tries not to let his tears flow. 

_If Jongin knew, he’d make sure I eat._

At that, more guilt drenches him and he ends up crying into a hand towel. 

Eventually, he makes it out of the bathroom, having cried at his haggard appearance—his skin a sickly pale tone and eye bags prominently larger—but then calming down after realizing his lime baby was visible when he lifted his shirt. 

Fucking hell, his hormones are wreaking havoc on his sanity. 

Kyungsoo smooths his palm over the small bump, taking assurance in its presence as he decides he’ll eat two servings of everything they serve at dinner tonight. 

***

It’s when he joins the Kim family downstairs, ready to greet the guests at the door, that he receives the news. 

Apparently, both of his fathers have come down with the flu, and Seungsoo—on his way to the event tonight—ended up having to turn back when he couldn’t stop throwing up himself. 

In other words, his family won’t be coming tonight and Kyungsoo is not happy. 

Of course, he can’t blame them for getting sick—and he is concerned for their well-being—but he also blames them for getting sick. Couldn’t they take an extra dose of the antiviral medication and make the journey? Of all the times they could choose to get sick, they would when Kyungsoo needs them the most. 

He manages to make it through the greetings without moping too much. He needs to be the perfect son-in-law tonight, no matter how much he wants to whine at the unfairness of it all. 

His stomach flips uneasily with each bow, feeling faint as the blood rushes to his head every time he leans down. He rubs at his stomach, hoping he doesn’t look too miserable in front of the guests. He honestly just wants to make it through this night as quick as possible. 

He chances a glance at Jongin, who’s standing beside him making small talk with one of the members of his father’s council. He looks so serious, full business mode and professional—looking every bit the part a king should. 

Too bad Jongin hasn’t even looked his way since the time he joined them. He figured they must be on some kind of good terms after their late night chat over a bloody finger a few days ago, but the taller prince has barely acknowledged him tonight. 

He pouts. 

It also doesn’t help how incredibly dashing the tuxedo looks on Jongin, with his hair swooped away from his forehead, showing off the entirety of his better than average face. 

Kyungsoo tries not to side eye him for too long to make it less obvious that he’s looking. He really tries not to, but every so often he finds his eyes trailing the same invisible path that ends right on Jongin. 

Damn it. He is fucking _gorgeous_. 

Kyungsoo feels his cheeks heat up as he tries to think of something else, but his thoughts betray him as his mind conjures up images of Jongin holding his hand as he treats his cut, smiling at him, laughing at his joke—but as his eyes land on the male once again, his little expanding balloon deflates because Jongin is so engrossed in acknowledging and speaking to everyone but him tonight. 

He pouts again. 

 

He sits beside Jongin at the front table, listening to King and Queen Kim make small speeches thanking everyone for coming out to celebrate them. He’s truly enjoying the small jokes they throw in, internally grateful for having in-laws that aren’t so uptight and sullen all the time like the horror stories he’s heard. 

And despite feeling like total crap, his mood being offset by his parents’ nonattendance, and Jongin ignoring him, Kyungsoo feels rather proud of keeping himself together tonight. It’s quite an accomplishment judging from the way he’s been so on edge lately that he breaks down in his bathroom every other day. 

To keep himself composed, he tries not to dwell on all the stress he’s facing. Instead, he decides to push his luck to turn his mood around. Suddenly fueled by a fleeting upstroke in self-confidence, he turns to Jongin and decides, _to hell with it_. 

“Hi.”

Apparently, Jongin hasn’t heard. 

“Hi,” he says louder, this time gaining the other’s attention. 

Jongin turns his head to look at him with the same cold ass, brooding face—

Keep your composure, Kyungsoo chants in his head.

“Your parents are funny,” he says with a smile, even though he wants to smack himself. Jongin doesn’t look amused, and he’s slowly losing his resolve. “Princess Jang-ah is funny too,” he continues.

Again, no reaction from Jongin. 

Kyungsoo wants to melt into the soft, velvet cushion of his chair. 

“Rahee is funny?” His attempt is so pathetic. This is sad. A burning ship. Kyungsoo should jump off and swim away while he can. “Did you know she can do push-ups? Isn’t that so funny? A two year old doing push-ups!”

His attempt at a laugh withers away when Jongin simply stares at him, unmoving, unwilling to engage him in this useless conversation. 

Kyungsoo suddenly feels something bubbling up inside of him. He can’t quite name it, but it sears a hot red on every nerve end. It unsettles him, and he wants Jongin to do something. _Say something_. 

There’s one thing he can say that would surely drive a reaction out of him. Kyungsoo feels delirious enough to spill it, wanting to satisfy the craving inside. 

“Hey, Jongin?” he says, smiling although he can no longer feel his own face. He should stop and recollect himself. He doesn’t feel good for some reason, but the hazy darkness surrounding his thoughts prompt him to expel what he’s been keeping inside. His heart is racing uncontrollably, he can feel his dress shirt cling to his back from the sweat, and he leans in closer to whisper his best kept secret.

“I’m going to…have…your... _ba_ …”

Kyungsoo doesn’t stay conscious long enough to register calls of his name. 

***

Jongin barely acknowledges his sister’s panic over his own as he carries Kyungsoo to their bedroom. He vaguely recalls Jang-ah mentioning that Kyungsoo wasn’t feeling good today, and for reasons unknown, he’s angry. 

While she goes to call their royal physician, Jongin lays him down on the bed. He moves to smooth away the sweat-matted bangs only to realize Kyungsoo’s burning up underneath. Somehow, this infuriates him further. 

He can’t tell who he’s mad at more, Kyungsoo for blatantly ignoring his health like this or himself for not noticing. 

He moves to search for a thermometer, rummaging through various drawers but coming up short. He goes to the bedside table, not finding any success there either. 

Opening the bag resting on top, he doesn’t pay much attention to the pamphlets and pill bottles inside because he’s too busy chastising Kyungsoo in his head. 

_You clumsy, sick idiot._

Out of frustration, he flings the bag down, not registering the words on the bottle that falls by his feet until he’s done mentally scolding the unconscious prince. Jongin bends down to pick it up, carefully reading the label. 

Once he’s done, he carefully puts it back inside the bag and closes it, glancing one last time at Kyungsoo before he’s turning around and walking out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohh, he found the prenatal vitamins~  
> :]


	3. Chapter 3

Jongin’s fate was sealed the moment his parents conceived him. 

It was as though he knew of his own importance the moment he slipped out through the birth canal—he didn’t cry until he was forced to by the doctor giving a decent smack on his left butt cheek. Later on, his mother told him it was because of excess amniotic fluid blocking his lungs’ ability to take in a good breath. Jongin liked to believe it was because he was busy taking in such a powerful, awe inspiring moment instead—his first time being out in a world he was born to rule. 

He was a future _king_. 

That little detail, however, would set the precedent for the rest of Jongin’s life.

One of his earliest memories includes sitting on his father’s lap in the conference hall, trying to pull at the drawstrings of his royal robes as they sit before a group of men discussing things Jongin doesn’t understand a word of.

The repeated words of _“you will be king one day, my son”_ don’t mean anything to him until he watches Mufasa explain to Simba how everything the light touches is their kingdom, and then the realization dawns on him. 

Jongin has two epiphanies at the age of four, one of them being that The Lion King is the best movie of all time.

The second being that he just can’t _wait_ to be king. 

Jongin is thrilled at the prospect of being a king. He will wear beautiful clothes, an awesome gold crown, and have the prettiest wife—or handsomest husband, he’s not picky—in all the land. And they will have a lot of kids and live happily ever after. 

So when pre-school starts, and Jongin smiles to his really cute desk mate and says _“Hi, w-will you b-be my f-f-friend?”_ and the desk mate stares in shock before bursting out into a loud laughter, Jongin learns rather quickly how to be silent. 

He finds out, when he’s selected to read aloud a passage in one of their nursery books, that mother goose is not pronounced _“mother g-g-g-g-goose”_ as the kids in his class so generously exaggerate. He also comes to find that he’s defected and abnormal, new words in his vocabulary that define his being, all because his tongue doesn’t roll a certain way. 

His first year is spent trying hard to overcome his inadequacy. He spends hours repeating after his tutor, practicing in the shower, and talking to his noona. Each day, he fights against his own body. The kids at school don’t see his tears of frustration when he attempts to repeat his name Kim Jongin a hundred times without stuttering, only to mess up at count eighty and start over. 

Each victory is followed by a devastating blow when Jongin shows up to school the next day, ready to practice his techniques, only to revert back to the impediment when the teasing begins. 

At the age of five, Jongin has his third epiphany, and it’s one that leaves a scar deeper than any taunt or nasty remark he’s ever received. 

_He will never be a good king._

After all, who wants to listen to a king who can’t even say his own name properly?

***  
Numb.

It’s the first feeling that floods his body after he closes the door to the bedroom. There’s a low ringing in his ears that blocks out all other noise. His mind is in a chaotic stillness, where every fleeting thought disappears the moment it begins. 

All the panic from earlier seems to have evaporated. 

“Jongin?” 

He turns to look at where his sister is guiding the physician towards him. 

“Yixing’s going to check him out, okay? Everything will be fine,” the princess says as they near. 

“Give me a few moments,” Dr. Zhang says, bowing respectfully before hurrying inside and closing the door behind him. 

The siblings remain outside, sounds of laughter and music from the still ongoing party mixing with the tangible silence between the two. Jang-ah sends her brother a concerned look, the prince staring off into the hallway, seemingly deep in thought. 

She squeezes his shoulder in comfort, hoping with all her might that Kyungsoo and the baby will be okay. 

The door unclicks moments later, and Jongin visibly flinches, turning to face the doctor as the male shuffles out quietly. 

“He’s feverish, most likely fainted from dehydration and exhaustion. Flu season is in full rage so I took some samples for testing,” Dr. Zhang explains, patting his briefcase assuredly. “I’ll prescribe him Tylenol and get him started on maintenance fluids. For now, he needs all the rest he can get.”

“Would that be safe?” Jongin asks quietly, speaking out loud for the first time since Kyungsoo collapsed. 

“The medication? It’s certainly safe—”

“H-He’s pregnant,” says Jongin, immediately flushing scarlet in irritation at his nervous stutter. 

“Oh?” The doctor raises his eyebrow in question, while Jang-ah gapes at him. 

“You knew?” she asks incredulously, narrowing her eyes at Jongin. 

“You knew too?” he shoots back, returning the glare. 

“Well, um,” Dr. Zhang interrupts awkwardly, not wishing to get between the two but right now his priority is his supposedly pregnant patient. “Tylenol is perfectly fine to take during pregnancy. I’m going to go start the saline fluid bag through IV, so if you’ll excuse me…”

As the physician scurries back inside the room, the siblings continue to glare at each other until Jongin finally snaps. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he questions, a slow sense of dread starting to overtake the numbness in his body. 

“Jongin…” the princess noticeably deflates, a dejected look crossing her features. “It wasn’t my news to share.”

“So he really is...” Jongin slides down to the floor, covering his face with both hands. “He r-r-really--”

He cuts himself off before he can stutter himself to death, growing internally frustrated while the dread drenches him like a cold wave. The panic comes back full force and as much as Jongin wants to deal with this like an adult, he can’t help but feel like a lost child. He doesn’t dare open his mouth to avoid further pain and embarrassment, even though he knows his noona wouldn’t ever judge him for it. 

The princess kneels down beside him, wrapping an arm around her little brother and bringing him into her embrace. Jongin immediately leans his head against her   
shoulder, letting her calm him down with gentle words and back rubs, just like she used to when they were little. 

“Hey, you know it’s okay, right?” she starts, “Jongin, you’re frustrated because this is a lot to take in. Kyungsoo’s pregnant and it’s scary, right?”

Jongin nods. 

“It’s also wonderful news, baby brother. Children are so precious, and you always said you wanted a bunch of them,” she laughs, ruffling his hair as he groans. 

“That was before—you wouldn’t understand, noona.”

“What wouldn’t I understand? You know I would do anything for you, and for Kyungsoo too. We all would. You have to always keep that in mind.”

Jongin sighs, lifting his head and giving it a small shake. “I know.”

“Good, now get your butt inside and nurse your sick, pregnant husband back to health.”

They both stand, Jang-ah giving Jongin another bear hug before heading back to the party.

“Thanks, noona,” he says before she leaves. “But, um, don’t say anything to mom and dad just yet. Please.”

She sends him a smile and a wink. “I won’t, but you better tell them soon.”

“Yeah.”

Once Jongin is left standing alone in the hallway, he takes once last look at the closed bedroom door, hand almost coming up to turn the knob but he backs away at the last second, turning, instead, to head to his office for the night. 

***

_Itchy_. It’s the first thought that crosses his mind as Kyungsoo brings his hand up to scratch the inner fold of his elbow. Unknowingly ripping off the tape and removing the IV, he closes his eyes in attempt to head back to sleep until his bed sheet starts becoming cold and wet. 

He awakens with a start, looking around and noticing the IV pump and tubing leading to his now saturated mattress, and he grabs it to make it stop. Bending the line and effectively stopping the liquid from spilling through the dislodged catheter, Kyungsoo makes a move to stand up, pressing random buttons on the pump to get it to turn off. 

It certainly doesn’t help when a blaring alarm suddenly sounds from the machine, and it muddles his already sleep-dazed mind. In an attempt to stop the noise, he drops the tubing to give it a good shake, thoroughly confused as to what’s going on. 

He tries to remember what events have led to this ridiculously loud IV pump trying to wake up the dead, when he hears the door open. He whips around with a troubled look. 

“Please make it stop,” he pleads, letting out a small whine when he registers Jongin walking towards him eyes half-shut, hair flying in fifteen different directions, and   
looking just as confused as him. 

Jongin walks closer, trying not to look at bedhead Kyungsoo wearing his oversized T-shirt that’s kind of showing too much shoulder—and moles? Wow, moles.

He coughs, refocusing back to the pump that has probably already woken up the entire country. He steps up to hit a button, not registering the crazy pool of fluid at the base of the IV pole and slips. He sees his entire life flash before his eyes as the first thing he tries to grab onto just happens to be Kyungsoo’s shirt. 

Taking a rather harsh tumble to the wet floor, he ends up taking the smaller prince down with him. He lets out a pained _“oof”_ when Kyungsoo lands on his chest, shocked, large, bright eyes staring back at his in very, very close proximity. 

Neither prince registers what just occurred, both still in shock but very much awake now. 

Kyungsoo doesn’t move from his spot on top of Jongin, instead, staring wide-eyed at the male below him. Light reflects off the swirls of dark and light brown in Jongin’s irises, and Kyungsoo can’t help but think how beautiful and warm they look. 

He hopes the baby will inherit those deep, soothing eyes instead of his own bug-eyed—

“Are you okay?” Jongin asks, something akin to worry settling on his features as his arms come around Kyungsoo’s waist, holding him gently, almost too carefully. 

Kyungsoo really hopes the tip of his ears are not matching the shade of red blooming across his cheeks as he suddenly scrambles up, trying not to grimace at the cold, wet feeling of his pajamas sticking to his skin. 

“Prince Jongin—” he starts breathlessly, fixing his disheveled clothes before lightly caressing his stomach. “I’m so sorry. Um, are you okay?”

Jongin eyes the hand movement briefly before standing up and shutting off the stupid pump alarm. He turns warily towards his husband, frowning slightly. 

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo repeats again, feeling his stomach flip uncomfortably at the thought of having ruined Jongin’s morning and already setting the prince in a bad mood. 

Jongin’s posture is rigid, as if he’s holding himself back from something. Instead, he nods his head before sending what Kyungsoo perceives to be a hard look. 

“You’re not hurt, right?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head in response, looking for something interesting in the wet floor rather than Jongin’s expression. 

“We’ll get Yixing to do a quick check up on you and the—” Jongin cuts himself off, a bit hesitant before continuing. “Clean yourself. Can’t have you getting sick again.”

“It’s okay, I feel fine,” Kyungsoo says, waving his hands around. “You’re all wet though, it’s my fault.”

“Worry about yourself right now,” Jongin deadpans, but internally cringes at how harsh his words sound when Kyungsoo visibly winces. He mentally berates himself. 

“Sorry again,” mumbles Kyungsoo as he slowly walks off to the bathroom, and Jongin stares into the abyss, dumbfounded by his poor interpersonal communication skills and ability to come off as a jerk towards Kyungsoo repeatedly. His mind is definitely not making the right connection to his mouth. 

Kyungsoo returns shortly with a large, fluffy towel and bends down to wipe at the floor before any more accidents can take place. Jongin silently watches him mopping the floor when the smaller prince grimaces, putting a hand on his back for support as he continues wiping. 

A rather odd, deep sort of instinct harshly kicks him in the shin and he’s immediately bending down, pressing a hand to Kyungsoo’s back as he grabs the towel from him. “L-Let me,” he mutters, biting his lip and turning to make sure Kyungsoo didn’t hear his stupid, _stupid_ stutter. 

Instead, the male is sending him the tiniest of smiles as they both stand. 

“Thank you, Prince Jongin.”

There are a lot of things Jongin wants to say right now, but chooses to go with a blunt “Yeah”. 

The smile falters before Kyungsoo turns and heads off to the bathroom again, and Jongin berates himself once more.

***

“Prince Jongin. He calls me _Prince Jongin_.”

Said prince is currently sprawled across his sister’s bed, stomach down and face buried in a pillow as Rahee sits perched on his back, tugging at the tufts of his hair. 

Princess Jang-ah is rummaging through the closet looking for something decent for herself and Rahee to wear, as her husband is coming back from abroad after two months of working on a high-profile court case.

Jongin’s brother-in-law, Jaehyun, is one of Korea’s top lawyers, and of course he and his team of lawyers ended up winning the case. 

Jongin lets out a dispirited groan as Rahee tugs hard with her small hand wrapped around his locks. 

“Come get your munchkin before I go bald,” he says to his sister, voice muffled by the pillow.

“Yes, Prince Jongin,” she says, giggling behind her hand as she brings an outfit towards the bed and lifts her daughter off of him. 

“ _Noona_.”

“What?” You want him to call you honey? Sweetie? Baby?” Jang-ah says, struggling to get Rahee to stay still long enough to remove her little blue overalls. “Let’s see, sugar pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, apple of his eye, cupcake, _jagi~_.”

“Kill me.”

“Shut up. You know what Rahee’s dad calls me?”

“I’d rather not know.”

“He calls me his starlight,” she continues despite Jongin now sitting and acting like he’s going to throw up. She pauses buttoning up Rahee’s shirt to throw a pillow at the prince, who dodges it like a pro. “Anyways, I could really go for some pie right now.”

As soon as Jang-ah is finished dressing her daughter, the toddler squirms away, going straight to Jongin and plopping down on his lap. 

“You’re seriously no help,” Jongin complains, trying his best not to pout as he plays with Rahee’s fingers. “Stop talking about food. It’s making me hungry.”

Jang-ah is checking herself out in the mirror, making sure she looks her best as she catches Jongin going in for a yawn behind her.

“I think I’m pregnant.”

Jongin chokes mid-yawn, spit being sucked back and going down his airway. He starts coughing to expel the saliva as Jang-ah is bent over, cackling like an evil witch. 

“Y-You’re the worst!” Jongin exclaims after he’s finished coughing up a lung. 

“Love you too, brother!”

This time, Jongin tosses the pillow at her, only to get smacked by Rahee on the shoulder.

“No,” the tiny princess scolds, and it only makes Jang-ah laugh louder as Jongin pouts at his niece. 

“Not fair,” he grumbles.

“You can gang up on us once your baby is born,” his sister teases, throwing the pillow back at Jongin. 

This time, he lets it hit his face. 

***

All that talk about pies and cupcakes has Jongin’s stomach grumbling as he makes his way to the dining hall for dinner. He wonders if he should’ve woken Kyungsoo up from his nap to eat or continue to let him rest. 

Luckily, he doesn’t debate the matter too long because Kyungsoo is seated at the table beside his mother when he walks in, picking at his food silently. 

He takes his seat across from his husband, sending the smaller prince a glance before turning to greet his parents. 

“Where did you two disappear off to last night?” his mother starts, looking between the couple curiously, a hint of a smile on her face.

Jongin and Kyungsoo share a look, before diverting their eyes again. 

“ _Too cute_ ,” she whispers before turning back to her plate. 

Jongin wonders if Kyungsoo can feel the awkward tension between them, and if it’s also threatening to suffocate him. Luckily, it doesn’t last very long before his sister and brother-in-law arrive with Rahee in tow, everyone turning their attention to them. 

Greetings go around, Jongin bowing to the older male before sharing a brotherly hug. Kyungsoo stands awkwardly behind, settling for a bow since the only other time he’s met the man was at their wedding. 

Jaehyun sends him a warm smile before they all take their seats again, Jongin somehow ending up beside Kyungsoo. 

They talk about Jaehyun’s experiences in Japan, and he tells them in great detail about how he immersed himself in the culture, some struggles with the language barrier, but overall a very unique two months. Everyone is engaged in the conversation, but Jongin notices the silence from the male on his right. 

Kyungsoo is pushing his food around again, only taking the smallest bites onto his spoon and swallowing them down. There are some words at the tip of Jongin’s tongue waiting to be spilled, and he really wants to say them, but judging from his track record of saying jerk-y things, he decides speaking is not the best course of action right now. 

Instead, he cuts a piece of his chicken breast and transfers it over to Kyungsoo’s plate, wondering if he doesn’t like his choice of steak tonight and wants the chicken instead. He also grabs the vegetable dish and scoops a large portion onto the side of the meat, setting it down and returning to his own plate. 

He can feel eyes boring into the right side of his face, but Jongin wills himself to keep his gaze focused straight ahead, pretending like he’s too busy with his own meal. Through his periphery, he sees Kyungsoo take a large spoonful of the vegetables, going back for more, and Jongin releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. 

For some reason, knowing Kyungsoo’s eating and finishing up his plate makes him feel full too. 

Once the younger prince wipes his plate clean, he leans into his side and whispers a grateful, “Thank you, Prince Jon—”

Jongin clenches his jaw as he grabs Kyungsoo’s hand under the table. Ignoring the stupid way his stomach flips, he whispers back, “Just Jongin.”

Kyungsoo sends him a puzzled look, despite the crazy scarlet that has painted his ears, and Jongin is sure his own ears are flaming hot too. He lets go of the hand and shakes his head, speaking a little louder. “C-Call me just Jongin.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says, a smile blooming on his face that Jongin realizes resembles a heart. “Thank you, _just Jongin_.”

Jongin looks away then, molding his expression back to his default setting. 

Otherwise he’s pretty sure Kyungsoo would hear the resounding crack that has appeared on the tethered walls of his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kaisoo progress? a little?~   
> :] i hope i have the fourth chapter written soon! ive been working on this other kaisoo thing that...yeah, ive been dying to finish it for a while now but it just keeps getting longer and longer and longer....
> 
> i will try not keep you guys waiting soon! thank you for the lovely kudos T.T and super sweet comments!!


	4. Chapter 4

Kyungsoo wakes up with a headache, hiccups, and a full bladder. It doesn’t help that every hiccup makes him want to pee his pajamas as he walks carefully towards the bathroom. 

His hiccups are loud and obnoxious, like he’s choking on air, and it’s not the prettiest sound to come from his mouth. He covers it with his palm, hoping he doesn’t end up waking the entire castle on this impossibly long trek to the toilet. He figures it could be faster if he just picked up his pace, but he’d rather not leave a trail of pee behind. 

At least the dull throb against his skull isn’t as bad compared to some of his previous headaches. It doesn’t make him feel lethargic and miserable like usual, and he can’t thank the higher powers enough. 

He’s almost to the bathroom when his stomach groans incredibly loud, and he can’t decide which sounds uglier, his hiccups or his dying stomach. 

He clutches at his stomach while the hand on his mouth does its best to keep those animalistic sounds from being heard, not noticing his surroundings until a foreign hand comes flying out and clutches at his arm. 

“Kyungsoo, are you okay?” comes a deep voice, and Kyungsoo looks up at his prince husband, shocked. “Are you nauseous?” 

_Weird question._

He goes to remove the hand off his mouth to answer before he realizes he can’t let Jongin hear him, so he nods his head in response, to which Jongin furrows his eyebrows. 

“You are?” 

Kyungsoo nods again. _I’m okay_ . Another hiccup makes him jerk his upper body, and now Jongin looks concerned. The taller prince removes his hand, arm now coming around to hold Kyungsoo’s waist as he guides them toward the bathroom. 

“C-Can you hold it until we get to the bathroom?” 

Kyungsoo tries to look sideways, wondering if Jongin noticed how desperately he’s been holding his pee with his legs almost crossed. This is embarrassing. 

Jongin’s cheeks are flushed a soft pink, and Kyungsoo is pretty sure his own are matching. 

They eventually reach The Toilet and Kyungsoo finally takes the hand off his mouth, sighing in relief. He looks towards Jongin, who’s awkwardly fidgeting in place, and Kyungsoo wonders if he’s going to stand there while he relieves himself. 

“Go ahead,” Jongin says, and Kyungsoo now blushes deeply. 

“Um,” he starts, gesturing with his hand to the porcelain bowl. “Are you—are you going to watch me?”

“Do you need help?” Jongin asks, face burning impossibly red. 

Kyungsoo’s eyes become comically wide at the question. Help with what?

“I think I can manage peeing in the toil— _SQWUACKK~_ ”

Kyungsoo slaps a hand to his mouth again, cursing his hiccups to the moon and back. He watches the shock on Jongin’s face turn into amusement as the corners of his lips tick upward. 

“What was that?”

“Jongin, stop— _sqwuuaakk_ —”

“What? I didn’t quite catch that.”

There’s a sound of laughter accompanying the small shakes of Jongin’s shoulders as the prince dissolves into a fit of giggles. Kyungsoo can’t believe the situation he’s in right now. 

“I have to pee! Will you stop laughing? Sqwuak. Stop it!” Kyungsoo pushes Jongin out of the bathroom, locking the door swiftly as he turns back towards the toilet. He fumbles with his pajamas a bit before he finally relieves himself, grumbling to himself all the while. 

Meanwhile, Jongin can’t hold back his laughter as Kyungsoo’s red face and large eyes pop into his mind again. “Cute,” he murmurs before heading back to his office again. 

 

***

 

Kyungsoo fidgets with the hem of his shirt as he walks up to the meeting room door, hand hesitating to turn the knob and walk inside. The Queen has summoned him to have a talk, the topic of it unbeknownst to Kyungsoo, thus causing much anxiety. 

Did she perhaps find out about the baby? Is she wanting to talk to him about that? Kyungsoo wonders why he feels so nervous at the thought. It’s not like he’ll be punished or anything—that’s the Queen’s grandchild after all—but maybe she’ll chastise him for being so reckless when they just got married. 

Kyungsoo doesn’t want to be lectured right now. He’s been feeling queasy all day and hasn’t been able to keep anything in his stomach long enough for it to be absorbed before he’s tossing it all over the toilet bowl. 

It doesn’t help that Jongin heard his obnoxiously loud hiccups that morning and _laughed_ at him. So yeah, Kyungsoo’s not in the mood. He takes a deep breath.

_Be still, my heart._

And with that, he’s opening the door and stepping inside the room. Queen Kim is sitting on one of the chairs near the head of the table, so Kyungsoo says his greeting and takes the seat across from her.

“Thank you for stopping by, Kyungsoo,” she says warmly, sending Kyungsoo a bright smile. 

_Smile._ That’s a good sign. 

“I feel like we haven’t gotten to talk one on one since you joined our family,” she starts, thumbing through some papers before her on the table. “It’s been a chaotic few months since the wedding and then the party, and just meeting all these other royal families—it’s a lot right?”

Kyungsoo nods his head respectfully. It has been a lot, especially with this one shot wonder baby growing inside him. 

“How is everything? How is married life? Is Jongin treating you okay?”

Those are a lot of questions all at once. Kyungsoo feels himself growing apprehensive at the thought of not being able to adequately answer each one. He looks ahead at the wall behind her and suddenly his mind goes blank. 

“Um,” he starts slowly, giving his brain time to come up with something on the spot but its being utterly useless right now. He spends the next quiet minute fumbling for words.

_Why am I so awkward?_

But then he glances back at her, and he can see the resemblance of her eyes to Jongin’s. Her lips are quirked upwards, and Kyungsoo’s mind flashes back to this morning where Jongin’s mischievous smile was on full display. 

“He laughed at me today,” he says without thinking—clearly. “Any other day he doesn’t even crack a smile but today he laughed when I felt miserable.”

“Oh yeah?” The Queen looks pleased. 

“I think the only time he looks at me is when I do something foolish.”

The words come tumbling out before he can stop himself. He hears them spoken out loud and turns bright pink—not meaning to have revealed that. He wants their marriage to look perfect, successful. It certainly won’t seem that way if everyone finds out they barely talk to each other, much less act as a true married couple. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles quietly, wringing his hands together under the table. 

“No, no I like hearing this. My son is a weird creature so I can understand where you’re coming from.”

Did she just call the future king a weird creature?

Kyungsoo smiles softly at that. His mother-in-law is funny, he decides. He wonders how different it would be if Jongin had taken after her personality. Would they click instantly? Grow closer to each other every day rather than this snail pace race they have going on?

However, Kyungsoo immediately dismisses the thought. For some reason, he’s starting to like the idea of Jongin being closed off because it’s almost like a challenge. He gets to peel a layer back and see a new side of his prince husband, and the more he peels, the more he’s intrigued. 

Jongin is interesting, and he likes being the one able to dig deeper into his complexities. What makes him truly laugh? What catches his attention? Why is he so distant—did something happen or has   
he always been this way? 

Kyungsoo wants to know everything, and if it takes him going at the pace of a snail, so be it. 

“Kyungsoo,” the Queen calls for his attention. “I want you to do something. I understand that your upbringing has been different from that of your brother’s, in the sense that he would take over the throne and lead the kingdom. However, you realize that Jongin is next in line for the throne, which means you will be the spouse to a king.”

Kyungsoo acknowledges the fact, stomach churning at just the thought of it. 

“You two will eventually be the faces of this kingdom after the King and I step down, and there are certain things you must learn about the duties involved.” The Queen fixes the papers she’s been messing with before sliding them over to the unusually pale prince. “It’s just a compiled list of subjects that I want you to start looking into. It’s the same stuff that Jongin looks over, so it would be best if you two studied together.”

Kyungsoo takes the papers, letting his eyes run over the pages but not registering any of it. Can the Queen tell if he’s panicking yet or not?

“Sweetheart, if there’s anything you need or I can help you with, you come straight to me. I am probably the only person in this entire castle who knows what you’re going through, and what you will go through from now on. I actually sat in the same spot as you many years ago when my own mother-in-law told me these exact things.” She reaches over and places a comforting hand over Kyungsoo’s shaking ones. “You two need to show a strong, united front when Jongin takes the throne. There will be moments where you two will only be able to rely on each other, so it’s crucial that you having understanding and trust between one another.”

With that, Kyungsoo knows that their talk is over. He stands slightly bowed as the Queen sends him a reassuring smile before taking her leave, and as soon as she’s out of sight he runs as fast as he can to the nearest bathroom. He drops to his knees and throws up everything he has left in his stomach. 

He rubs it wearily as he slumps over an arm, taking in slow, deep breaths as the accumulated sweat trickles down his neck. He can’t tell if he vomited because of his morning sickness or because of the anxiety built up from everything the Queen just said to him. 

Either way, Kyungsoo feels more miserable than ever. 

It’s not that he disagrees with her—it’s the mountain of burden on his shoulders just becoming heavier. 

What if he fails in his duties as the king’s spouse? What if he can’t handle the pressures that come along with his position? And the worst of all, what if he somehow causes the downfall of their kingdom because of his inadequacies?

Though somewhat farfetched and irrational, Kyungsoo’s fears are profound in this very moment. He just hopes he can hold it together until he somehow makes it. 

_Fake it till you make it?_

 

***

 

It’s about a week later that Kyungsoo finally musters up some courage to approach Jongin’s office. They’ve been able to hold small conversations here and there about irrelevant things, Kyungsoo having to keep his heart in check every time Jongin opens his mouth. 

Amongst other things, Kyungsoo has developed quite a liking to the soft-spoken words and the infinite amount of blush that accompanies them.

He proceeds to knock on the door and quietly wait, hearing some shuffling and movement on the other side before there’s a small opening. He watches as Jongin’s eyes peer through the crack, and   
they both stare at each other with eyes comically wide before the door is opening wider, Jongin beckoning Kyungsoo inside. 

“Kyungsoo…” Jongin starts in a breathy voice, gaze dashing maddeningly fast towards the state of his office room before he immediately begins to clean up. 

The couch is covered in various pillows of all shapes and sizes, blankets strewn about, papers littered across the large mahogany desk with some crumpled up near the trashcan, as if none of Jongin’s shots ever made it inside—all in all, the disorganized room is a stark difference from Jongin’s persona. 

Even when Jongin gathers all the bedding together and stashes it in a messy pile in the corner of the room, it doesn’t serve to decrease the untidiness, and Kyungsoo doesn’t know why that amuses him. 

“This is the first time I’m seeing your office,” he says in a teasing tone. “It’s very _cozy_ .” 

Jongin sends him a look as he finishes clearing the floor around the trash can. “It’s not usually like this.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Kyungsoo replies, smiling softly as he begins walking around and observing the large bookcase stuffed to the brim with worn out books, little trinkets that express bits and pieces of Jongin’s personality, and stopping by the window that overlooks the large expanse of the garden out back. 

“It’s not.”

“Mmhm.”

“I’ve just been busy so I haven’t had time to clean.”

“I’m sure you have.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“Not one bit.”

Jongin lets out a sigh while Kyungsoo chuckles to himself. The prince finishes clearing the desk as best as he can before speaking again. 

“So w-what brings you by?” Jongin looks borderline constipated after the question. 

“Um, I was told that I need to learn some things about how this kingdom works, and to start studying with you.” 

Jongin stares at him blankly. 

“You know...to help you for when you become king.”

“Why would I need your help?”

_Oh._

There’s an awkward silence that follows, and Kyungsoo can’t help but feel more dumb than flustered, wondering if Jongin doesn’t want him here intruding on his personal space. 

“I can, um, leave if you want.”

When Jongin doesn’t reply, he feels his mood taken a sudden downturn, and his stomach churns uneasily at the thought of Jongin having the power to affect him like this. And he doesn’t even know why.

He turns and begins walking towards the door, rubbing at his stomach as he fights to keep his eyes from watering up. He just wants to curl up in his bed and cry—

“Wait—” He feels Jongin grasp his hand tightly, pulling him back to face him. “Stay.”

Kyungsoo sniffles loudly, feeling stupid for the way he’s reacting. He blames their baby. 

“Are you crying?” Jongin asks, still holding onto Kyungsoo’s hand as he looks at him intently. 

“ _No_ ,” Kyungsoo responds in a wobbly voice. He moves to swipe at his eyes with his free hand, eyebrows scrunching closer together when Jongin begins leading him towards his black, leather chair. He plops Kyungsoo down, and the prince sinks into the cushiony seat with a hiccup—a normal one this time. 

They both stare at each other quietly, and it isn’t before long that Kyungsoo feels the need to disrupt the tense silence. 

“I’m not crying.”

“Mmhm.”

“I’m not.”

“I’m sure you aren’t.”

They stare again, Kyungsoo glaring at the other prince. 

“Jongin—”

“We can start whenever y-you like,” Jongin says, immediately blushing afterwards in a way that placates Kyungsoo. _This_ is what he was talking about. 

Kyungsoo sniffles again, nodding his head as he internally scolds himself to stop his childish crying. He slowly starts rocking side to side in the swivel chair, one hand resting on his stomach lightly. 

“What does a king do?”

Jongin begins rummaging through messy drawers, pulling out some files and papers with scribbled writing on them. Kyungsoo watches him silently, the storm inside his head quelled when the other goes to grab some books from the bookcase. 

He feels a rush of warmth spread throughout when Jongin pokes his tongue out, contemplating hard on which books to pick from. This is Jongin in his element, the future king of their region, and he’s sitting in his chair wondering how he’s going to survive these next few weeks being so close to the other. 

Especially when he no longer has total control of his feelings. 

 

***

 

Jongin finds himself in his sister’s room a few days later, definitely _not_ spazzing over his private studying sessions with the other prince. 

Kings don’t spaz. 

“D-Did I mention how quickly h-he picks up on things?” Jongin says, talking over his tongue as fast as he can while laying on his sister’s bed, tossing a pillow in the air over and over. 

“I think you might’ve mentioned it,” Jang-ah replies, brushing Rahee’s hair as the tiny princess plays with her doll. 

“He’s smart, like actually s-smart. And not just book smart. He questions things and s-sees them in a way I haven’t thought of before.” 

His sister sends him an endearing smile. “Never thought I’d see the day my heartless brother fell for someone. It’s cute.”

“I’m not falling for him,” Jongin sputters in defense. “I’m just admiring his brain.”

“Mmhm.”

“Oh my God, I’m not. I just acknowledge intelligence when I see it.”

Jang-ah just laughs as she finishes the two pigtails and sends her daughter running straight to her uncle, jumping on top as he lets out a pained groan. 

“Rahee, you weigh too much to jump on m-me now,” Jongin says, but doesn’t make a move to remove her. 

“Are you calling my toddler fat?”

“Ask my bruised ribs. I’m not going to have any left by the time my kid is born.” Jongin sits up, adjusting his niece to properly sit in his lap. “I don’t even know if Kyungsoo’s going to t-tell me about it until he goes into labor.”

“He’s going to start showing soon.”

“Why can’t he just tell me?” 

“Have you told him that you know?”

Jongin thinks about it for a moment. “I don’t s-see why I have to. He’s the one who’s pregnant, not me. If he’s having my baby, why is he keeping it a secret from _me_ ?”

“Jongin, I can’t believe I have to spell this out to you of all people, but maybe Kyungsoo hasn’t told you because he doesn’t know if he can.”

He sends her a confused look, and she sighs before explaining some more.

“You’re not the easiest person to talk to,” she starts, scoffing when Jongin rolls his eyes at her. “Shocking, I know. But he barely knows you, Jongin, and maybe you haven’t given him enough reason to trust you with this.”

“So I just have to make him trust me?”

“You can’t _make_ him trust you, but you can give him opportunities to do so. Start out by putting a smile on that cold face of yours, for one. We didn’t get you braces so you could keep your lips shut.”

Jongin scowls. 

“And learn to lighten up, talk to him first. Get to know his favorite color, movies, songs, flowers—I don’t know, just get to know the man that’s carrying your heir, and maybe he’ll open up to you.”

 

***

 

Jongin sits in his leather chair, mulling over his sister’s words as he stares at the prince in front of him, who is chewing on his pen cap as he turns a page in his notebook. 

“For the purposes of trade, wouldn’t it be more advantageous to…” Kyungsoo trails off, noticing the other’s gaze trained on him. “What?” he asks, pink dusting his cheeks as he goes back to chewing on the pen. 

It takes a second for Jongin to realize what Kyungsoo’s said, shaking his head and stating a quiet “ _nothing_ ” before returning to his own paperwork. 

“Jongin, couldn’t we open more trade routes through our providence and tax the products being exported?”

“That would boost the economy financially but would leave us open to possible threats from anyone using those routes. T-That’s why my dad’s only opened a few—better control over who goes in and out.”

“Makes sense,” Kyungsoo says, nodding before returning back to his studying. 

Jongin’s face heats up, this nerd talk over economy and taxation making his heart race faster. He wonders if Kyungsoo enjoys this stuff as much as he does. But first—

“What’s your favorite color?”

Kyungsoo pauses in his writing to look back up at him again, sending him an odd look before answering. 

“Black.”

“Oh,” Jongin swallows thickly. “Mine is blue.”

“Okay.”

Jongin glances back down, hiding his face with his hair as best as he can so that Kyungsoo can’t see the nervous blush painting his face. 

This is embarrassing. 

He can’t do this. 

He doesn’t talk to people first nor does he want to. He knows they’re only going to find out about his shortcomings and use them against him, make him feel more worthless than he already is.   
Kyungsoo doesn’t need to know that he married a useless man, and this isn’t to do with his stupid stutter. Jongin knows he has a crappy personality, and he can’t hold conversations for longer than a few seconds. He’s a helpless slob and he doesn’t care for much outside of himself and his family. 

If Kyungsoo doesn’t find out, then he won’t leave. 

Because, as Jongin realizes now, he doesn’t want him to. 

 

***

 

Kyungsoo’s light snores gently float through the air while Jongin finishes up reading over his notes. He glances over at the prince who’s snoozing away on his couch, body twisted weirdly that can’t be very comfortable. 

Jongin feels slightly guilty for letting their study session drone on so late into the night. Kyungsoo knocked out shortly after eating his dinner, and Jongin fights a yawn as he glances at the clock,   
deciding its time to retire for the night.

Except the sleeping prince has taken up the couch he usually sleeps on. 

Jongin studies him intently, noting the frown on the other’s face as he flips to find a more comfortable position to sleep in, but still not looking content. He knows this must be uncomfortable for him and the baby, and Jongin doesn’t think twice before leaning down and gathering Kyungsoo into his arms. 

He holds him gently as Kyungsoo adjusts in his hold, still dead to the world as he makes his way to the bedroom. He lays Kyungsoo down on the bed and flips on the small lamp, gathering the thick comforter to tuck the prince in when he pauses, eyes going to the small show of skin from where his shirt lifted over his stomach.

Curiosity takes hold almost immediately, and seeing the small swell of the raised stomach where his unborn child is resting has him leaning close, hand coming to rest on top. 

Jongin can’t name the feeling that grips him, instead only serving to freeze him in that moment where he belatedly realizes that this is _his child_ . The knowledge of its existence is nothing compared to the actual physical proof that he’s going to be a dad in a few months’ time.

His little _family_ .

Jongin removes his hand, feeling a myriad of emotions, one namely upsetting. 

_Fear_ .

Its overwhelming, the thought of becoming a father and a king and trying desperately to not disappoint in either role. Jongin doesn’t know if he can succeed. 

A hand comes to grip his clenched fist, Kyungsoo opening his eyes and focusing them on Jongin. 

“Stay?” he asks, voice barely above a whisper, and Jongin releases a shuddering breath. 

_An opportunity?_

He collects himself, pushing aside all of his turbulent thoughts as Kyungsoo scoots back to make room for him on the bed. Jongin slips beside him, covering them both with the comforter as he reaches out to turn off the lamp. 

He lays back down, facing Kyungsoo who’s already sleeping again and wonders if he’s doing the right thing. 

To open up and let someone who has the potential to hurt him in, to show Kyungsoo sides of him he has kept hidden for so long—

As sleep comes for Jongin, he decides he’ll deal with everything in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk why it took so long for me to update. i scrapped and re-wrote numerous times before i decided this version was okay enough to upload lol still not satisfied but meh~ thank you guys for reading!! your comments are so sweet <3


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